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Knight Time
"Knight Time" is the forty-third episode of . It depicts the first time Superman visits Gotham. After learning that Batman is missing, Superman goes to Gotham and pretends to be Batman in order to prevent crime from rising. In the end, he discovers that Batman's disappearance has something to do with an old nemesis of Superman's. Plot Roxy Rocket flies through Metropolis on her personal rocket closely pursued by Superman. She dives under a tunnel only to find Superman at the other end. She takes the risk of flying right at him but he manages to snatch her off the rocket, which crashes harmlessly in the bay. Superman is amazed that even Roxy would be daring enough to make trouble in Metropolis, but she shrugs and informs him that Batman has gone missing and Gotham City is now overrun with crooks. Meanwhile, out in Gotham a couple of criminals rob a store of its jewelry on the belief that the police are too busy to come and Batman won't show. However, they failed to reckon with Robin. Robin easily foils the robbery only to find the robbers had reinforcements. Fortunately, before they can shoot Robin, Superman shows up and subdues the crooks. Superman then consults Robin about Batman's whereabouts. Robin explains that Batman claimed he'd be away on business but none of his partners believed it. Batgirl and Nightwing traced a call to Romania and follow the lead leaving Robin alone. When the Bat-Signal goes up, Robin claims that crime gets worse every time Batman doesn't show. Hearing this Superman vows that Batman will. Out on the roof of the Gotham Police Department, Commissioner Gordon and Renee Montoya wait in vain for Batman. However, just as they give up on him, Batman and Robin appear. Commissioner Gordon informs Batman that Bane has returned to Gotham and is now twice as strong as he used to be. Batman and Robin leave, revealing to the audience that Batman is actually Superman in the outfit, disguising his voice. The duo goes to Wayne Enterprises to investigate the messages sent by Bruce. The call claims that Bruce went on vacation but a previous call to Robin claimed that he would be at work. Robin traces the call to New Zealand but neither he nor Superman believe the trace to be real. Superman investigates the papers in the room and discovers nanites. Looking at the phone he discovers a needle and realizes that Bruce is under some kind of mind control. Together, Superman and Robin interrogate the Penguin about the whereabouts of the Mad Hatter. After some convincing he confides in them that the Mad Hatter is meeting with the Riddler and Bane. The three criminals intend to control Gotham City with the Riddler acting as a jailer, the Mad Hatter as a puppeteer and Bane as an enforcer. However, Superman and Robin appear to foil their plans. Robin manages to knock down Riddler and cuff him to a bar. Bane engages Superman, whom he obviously believes is Batman in a fierce battle, but Superman pummels Bane into submission with relative ease stunning Bane greatly. After a short chase, they capture the Mad Hatter, no match for Superman's speed. At police headquarters, the Mad Hatter examines the nanites and surprises "Batman" and Robin by telling them that the robots are not his. In fact, he's stolen advanced technology from some of the world's best companies - Wayne Tech, LexCorp, and S.T.A.R. Labs - and the nanites are far more advanced that anything he's ever seen - from what he can tell, they may even be extraterrestrial in origin. Looking for more of a lead, Superman and Robin go to the Batcave to research what little they know. Because of the alien origin of the nanites, it's difficult to tell what is wanted with Bruce because it's not about ransom. However, Superman devises that the aliens need Bruce for something. He checks the message sent to Lucius Fox and hears rocket exhaust in the background. Robin realizes that Bruce must be at Wayne Aerospace. The team heads to Wayne Aerospace and discovers there is in fact a group of technicians working on a new rocket that has Kryptonian weapons. Bruce comes onto the scene and tells his staff they can go home. The staff members leave in confusion as they have built the rocket but never got a chance to fly it. After the staff has gone, Bruce announces that they're alone and Brainiac reveals himself. He's about to kill Bruce on the basis that he's outlived his usefulness but Superman intervenes and stops him. Brainiac is unconcerned, as he believes he is facing Batman, but soon finds he's fighting Superman. Superman confronts Brainiac but is unable to prevent him from launching his rocket. Still, Superman follows him into space and though it seems Brainiac has gained the upper hand, Superman manages to destroy the rocket and Brainiac's new body. Back on Earth, Bruce is returned to normal and explains that the nanites are dissolving on their own. Superman cautions him on checking his computer systems anyway and leaves with a compliment towards Robin. Continuity * Superman (as Batman) refers to Wayne Enterprises' brief partnership with LexCorp in "World's Finest." Brainiac infected LexCorp's computers, as shown in the episodes "Stolen Memories" and "Ghost in the Machine." * In , "Twilight," when Superman says that he destroyed Brainiac, he is presumably referring to this episode. * In , "Hereafter," both Tim and Alfred make it a point to attend Superman's funeral in Metropolis. Background Information Home Video Releases * * Superman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD) * Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2DVD, Blu-ray only) Production Notes * When Superman (disguised as Batman) punches Bane for the first time, there's a full screen frame of a fire explosion, which is reused footage from "Where There's Smoke" when Volcana blasted Superman with a fire ball in the parking lot. This is used again later when Superman blows up the lasers of Brainiac's ship. Trivia * Despite the fact that he is a living computer and should show no emotion, Brainiac is clearly seen doing so on two occasions in this episode: he smiles when Superman is restrained against the rocket, and is shocked when the rocket begins to explode. * Bane's quote that he wanted to feel Batman's "spine crumble in my hands" is a reference to the Batman comic story arc "Knightfall", which famously depicted Bane breaking Batman's back over his knee. * This is the first time Superman has shown up in Gotham rather than Batman coming to Metropolis. * Batgirl and Nightwing are said to be following Bruce's trail to Romania, looking for Ra's al Ghul. * Superman's ability to imitate any voice was never used before this episode or since. * The last appearances of The Riddler and The Mad Hatter in the DCAU. Roddy McDowall, who voiced the Mad Hatter, died on October 3, 1998, shortly before this episode aired. * This episode also continues the "tradition" of Bane appearing only once in any DCAU series he features in. Cast Quotes Category:A to Z Category:Crossover episodes Category:Superman: The Animated Series episodes